# Modulation of Viral Antigen Presentation in the Lung

> **NIH NIH U19** · JACKSON LABORATORY · 2021 · $498,316

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY (FUNDED PARENT AWARD, U19AI142733)
We propose a U19 Cooperative Center on Human Immunology at The Jackson Laboratory (JAX CCHI) to
elucidate the innate immune networks that shape adaptive immune responses to respiratory viral infections in
the human lung. Epithelial barriers lie at the interface between host and environment, where they sense invading
pathogen. Dendritic cells (DCs) present pathogen-derived antigens to T and B cells to induce immune responses.
However, the impact of the human lung tissue environment on DC and other cells, such as the newly identified
innate lymphoid cell (ILC) family, as well as bacteria-reactive MAIT cells, is not completely understood. An
understudied environmental factor is the lung microbiome. Microbiota are known to critically modulate the
function of immune cells, particularly at mucosal surfaces, but how this occurs in the lung is not fully addressed.
The JAX CCHI seeks to address these critical questions using a multi-disciplinary experimental approach that
will integrate immunology with epithelial cell biology along with genomic, cellular, functional and microbiome
parameters identified in human lung tissues. Our overarching hypothesis is that the quality and magnitude of
mucosal T cell responses to respiratory viral infections are determined by the cross- talk between microbiota,
epithelial cells and leukocytes. To address this hypothesis, we structured the JAX CCHI around two integrated
research projects focused on basic immunological mechanisms of lung antiviral immunity; a technology
development project that will create sophisticated cellular models leveraging 3D bioprinting, gene editing tools
and microbiome-immune assays to support project objectives; a sample core for storage and distribution of
human tissues; and a microbiome core for specialized microbiome profiling, cultivation, and computational
analysis. Our Center will bring together clinicians with experts in lung immunology, the microbiome,
bioengineering, genomics and computational biology to achieve our goals and maximize the potential of this
research. An administrative core will provide coordination, communication and oversight for the program. The
goals of this CCHI are to: 1) Understand how the networks of epithelial cells and immune cells in the human lung
regulate innate and adaptive immunity to respiratory viruses; 2) Define how inflammation driven by the
microbiome dictates the steady state of tissue, i.e., immune set-point; 3) Determine if and how this immune set-
point is altered in two pulmonary diseases, childhood asthma and adult lung cancer, which have a major impact
on public health; and 4) Develop innovative technologies to model human lung-immune dynamics and elucidate
molecular mechanisms, cell types and pathways key to lung antiviral responses. Impact: Through studies
focused on the sensors, inducers and modulators of antiviral immunity in the human lung, our CCHI will contribute
insights that could help...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10436633
- **Project number:** 3U19AI142733-03S2
- **Recipient organization:** JACKSON LABORATORY
- **Principal Investigator:** Anna Karolina Palucka
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $498,316
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-07-02 → 2022-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10436633

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10436633, Modulation of Viral Antigen Presentation in the Lung (3U19AI142733-03S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10436633. Licensed CC0.

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